Ensemble announces several appointments, changes following acquisition

Following its acquisition by Navigatr Group last year, Ensemble has announced several executive appointments and organizational changes.

“We have been laser focused on building the new Ensemble over the past year with a priority on acquiring and developing some of the industry’s top talent,” said Michael Johnson, president of Ensemble.

“This deliberate approach and strategy have already enabled us to deliver an improved and consistent experience to our members and partners alike and with these new team members we are primed to advance Ensemble’s growth and realize our vision of shaping the consortium of the future.”

Beth Butzlaff has joined Ensemble as senior vice-president of global partner relations.

Butzlaff brings extensive experience and valuable industry relationships with key supplier partners to her new role.

This includes her most recent position as vice-president of global partnership engagement at Global Travel Collection, a division of Internova Travel Group encompassing a collection of international luxury travel agencies.

In that role, Butzlaff developed and executed programs that grew the company production and influence within cruise, tour, hotel, insurance, specialty and tourism boards segments.

In addition, she spearheaded global expansion in the cruise vertical and extended those efforts into all travel verticals throughout the world.

Prior to that, she was vice-president of global partner relations at Virtuoso for 14 years.

During that time, she was responsible for the creation of several new partner programs.

Jennifer Dzialo, senior vice-president of partner relations, has also moved to Ensemble’s parent company, Navigatr Group, to support growth across all Navigatr brands.

She will focus on cultivating strategic partner relationships to drive multiple distribution models and improve outcomes across all travel verticals.

In a newly created role, Shelly Ransom joins Ensemble as vice-president of new agency business development.

Ransom was most recently at Hyatt, where she led the distribution team, managing partnership negotiations and strategy with agencies, OTAs and tour operators.

With nearly 30 years experience in the travel industry, Ransom has also held positions leading consortia and agency partnerships for Starwood, Wyndham and Marriott.

She also spent over 10 years on the agency side, most notably at AAA leading their lodging and airline partnership program.

Joining Ransom in this new area is Ron Bentley, who will focus on agency acquisition.

Bentley has most recently served as vice-president of member relations.

Mark Stubbert will assume the role as vice-president of member relations.

Stubbert previously held positions focusing on advisor services at Travel Edge Network and Carlson Wagonlit.

David Harris, who led Ensemble through the pandemic and the acquisition process, and most recently served as executive chairman, will transition out of his role.

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